The Missing Corpse is the fourth entry in the Brittany Mystery Series that began with Death in Brittany. There are now seven books written by this author. All feature a wonderful sense of place, delicious food and a murder mystery to solve.

This time Commissaire Dupin meets an actress who has seen a body that is not there when Dupin arrives. What exactly is happening in the oyster beds? How are things related to fairy stories and myths? Follow along with Dupin to find out.

I very much enjoy this series and recommend it. Note that it has also been made into a TV series. I always like to read the books first though.

This series may best be read in order but a reader will be fine wherever they begin; they will then probably come back for more. I know that I will.

Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press-Minotaur for this title. All opinions are my own.

This book kept me intrigued from the very beginning. Will definitely purchase other books in this series.

This is the first book by Jean-Luc Bannalec, and I was very pleased to discover how clever and quirky the writing is. I am also learning a great deal about Breton and oysters, and am looking forward to reading the rest of the series.

Very often readers fall in love with a place, the location of the book becomes a character. An important fulcrum on which the whole story and characters rotate. You can not have the story without the locale. The Commisionaire Dupin series is like that. Brittany comes a live in this series. It makes you long for the view, the food, the smells and sounds of daily life. Don’t get me wrong the mysteries are excellent, the characters are fully developed and detailed but it all comes alive against the backdrop of Breton. I look forward to each book in this series and drop everything to sit down and escape on a vacation to the seaside.

4 stars
This book opens with Commissaire Georges Dupin in the Oceanopolis in Brest, France. He is supposed to attend a police training seminar. But then a corpse is discovered. By the time he gets to the scene the the corpse is gone. Although he does solve the mystery of the missing corpse, the murderer is not revealed until the end of the book. Another murder takes place and the book does meander a bit with side plots, including a subordinate's unauthorized investigation which almost costs Inspector Kadeg his job. Then there is is Dupin's personal life, which takes a happy turn. In between solving the crimes., Dupin also indulges himself in some delicious Breton food.
There is very little violence and I would call it a cozy mystery.. It is book 4 in the series, but it would work as a stand alone. I have also read book 3 in the series.
Some quotes:
On rain "If other people complained about the rain: 'En Bretagne il ne pleut que sur les cons' In Brittany it only rains on idiots.'
Breton firsts: "The first monumental construction of humanity? No, not the Egyptian pyramids, as everyone would assume, but the seventy-five meter long Breton stone tombs, the Cairn de Barenez. Built when? 4500bc. The pyramids weren't built until two thousand years later."

"You know the Breton motto: nothing is more real than what you cannot see! The world is an enchanted forest."
Thanks to Minotaur Books/St Martin's Press for sending me this book through NetGalley.

Brittany, law-enforcement, teamwork, murder-investigation, oyster-culture, Celtic-heritage-societies, translated, theft *****

As innovative as Sicilian Commissario Montalbano and as irreverent as Dr Siri Paiboun, that is Breton Commissario Georges Dupin. The murder mystery is diabolical and guaranteed to baffle the reader. The characters are all too realistic and the scenery is awe inspiring. Have I established that I loved it and that you can read the summary in the publisher's blurb or other reviews? Good. I live in Wisconsin and have no idea about things like raising oysters for marketing or the viruses they are susceptible to. Nor did I know that there is an international problem of the theft of sand for industrial purposes. And I admit to not being aware of current Transceltic cultural heritage societies beyond those whose forebears came from Scotland and Eire. Guess I must have been living in a box or something. But I do know a few things about working with law enforcement, enough to know how much the dedicated ones are alike regardless of national allegiance! Commissario Dupin is one of the finest and I'm very happy that this translation is now available in English!
I requested and received a free ebook copy from Minotaur Books/St Martin's Press via NetGalley. Thank you!

Commissaire Dupin and his team have been involved in several odd cases, by The Missing Corpse by Jean-Luc Bannalec, tests their investigating skills and Dupin's patience.

Along the shores of the Brittany coast where the world's best oysters are harvested, Commissaire Dupin is finally feeling he can call himself a Breton even though he is originally from Paris. And as the world knows, everything worth inventing, discovering and making originated in Brittany. When a call comes in to police headquarters from a elderly actress about a body, Dupin rushes to the scene. But there is no body. Days later another body appears. This is a most complex case.

The Missing Corpse will be reviewed on MapYourMystery.com on Monday, April 29.

This is the fourth book in the series. But, because of the author's attention to detail, it will work as a stand alone read.

Commissaire George Dupin has been moved from his original position in Paris to the end of the world in Brittany. He has been there long enough to have solved some difficult cases. He also has built a good support group around him. He has two talented detectives who each have their own quirks. And there is Nolween, she is true leader. There is no fact, she cannot find.

A murder is reported in a village which is on the Belon river, a center for oyster growing. By the time Dupin arrives, the body is gone. In fact, there is no evidence a body ever existed. The woman who reported the body is known in the village as a woman who seems to be not quite aware of things. She is a famous actress who has been an idol for Dupin. He must believe his idol. No one else does.

There are several mysteries in this story. There is the murder and vanishing body. There is the theft of sand from Breton beaches, which is a big business. There are Scottish men who came for a visit and are now missing. There are Druids who have a marching band with bagpipes and may have something to hide.

Mr Bannalec is a meticulous author. He obviously loves Brittany. The reader is treated to descriptions of the scenery, the food and the character of the Breton people. It is all a wonderful travelogue which makes Brittany sound like the ideal place to live a life.

Dupin is a wonderful lead character. He is imaginative, mercurial as well as very clever. He is not someone who suffers fools gladly. But, at times he is a good listener and gleans information from unusual ideas and situations.

Dupin's staff and the people he encounters during his investigation add a great deal of depth to the story. There is also Claire. She is a surgeon and she happens to be the love of Dupin's life.

If you have never read a book by Mr Bannalec, you are in for a treat.

If you have never followed a French detective, you have no idea what you have missed.

I received this book from the publisher through NetGalley. I am voluntarily writing this review. All opinions are completely my own.

This is a clever mystery, with some humorous characters. There is a lot about oyster farming and Celtic interests. Commissaire Dupin gets a call from his secretary, Nolwenn, that an ATM is stolen in a tiny backwater. Then Riwal calls to say it isn't the ATM, but the banking terminal. Finally, Kadeg arrives and says that a woman has found a corpse covered in blood by a parking lot near the shore. Dupin races to the site of the corpse, and there is nothing there. Later, another corpse is discovered at Monts d'Arree, 100 km away. They soon ID the corpses, and find that the one at Monts is Seamus Smith from a rest home in Scotland. The other man, Mackenzie, was also from Scotland. Smith has occasionally worked for Mackenzie, who had wanted to buy into an oyster firm in Brittany, and there had been several calls between them before their trip to Brittany. They also were both part of a bank robbery many years before with a third man who disappeared with the money.

Dupin begins interviewing all the oyster farmers, including Tordeaux, who had made shady deals in the past and was a close friend of construction company owner, Delsard. Meanwhile, Claire, Dupin's lover, is moving from Paris, so Dupin gets to see her more often. The Prefect then arrests Kadag, one of Dupin's police for stealing sand. Dupin says that Kadag was investigating under his orders, so Kadag is asked to work on the case against Delsard. The prefect tells Dupin to concentrate on the sand problem and to stop investigating the deaths of two Scottish people. When Dupin doesn't stop, the Prefect takes Dupin's badge and gun and suspends him.

After he is suspended, Dupin goes to have dinner with Claire, eats his first oyster, and drinks too much wine. He finds out from Nolwenn that one of the three men Dupin had asked her to investigate is using an assumed name and was really the third man in the Scottish robbery with the two dead men. Claire drives Dupin to the suspect. Everything is explained and they all go to the police office. The two cases did hang together, and Dupin did solve them. The Prefect claimed it was all because of his crucial trick of suspending Dupin, making Dupin continue to investigate in secret!

"A Missing Corpse" is subtitled "A Brittany Mystery", and a delightful and thought-provoking one it is from Jean luc Bannalec, especially if you like reading about gastronomic delights alongside the details of a murder investigation. And who doesn’t? We’re reading about food within the first few pages. A good start. And a body on the same page. Even better. Our author does not disappoint in either regard.

Commissaire Georges Dupin is back in this, his fourth investigation. His fifth year with the Commissariat de Police Concarneau is approaching, and that hangs over his head throughout the book, and not in a good way, not for him. His friends and associates are looking forward to it.

An elderly woman, Madame Bandol, claims to have seen a dead body while out walking. By the time the police get there – no body. Is the old actress – who may not be an actress, but her twin sister – confused? Dupin sets out to find out, of course. Soon we have a body. Just not “that” one. It’s revealed that the murdered man is a Scot. How has he come to be in France? Curiouser and curiouser.

In between the pages of the book we get examples of what faithful readers have come to know and look forward to – the love of Breton that populates this series. The weather is described, the landscape, the sound of the sea, the smell of the rain. Familiar, happy, calming. Along the way we also receive notification of what makes the area “food famous” – in this case, oysters in the village of Port Belon. As Dupin meets and talks with the witnesses, the suspects, his subordinates and his superiors (that Prefect!), he gets to eat, and we get to follow along. Do not be hungry when you read these books.

Always densely plotted, these books are, but this book seems even more than most, as thick as the “rocs” that the author describes in such detail. There are red herrings, missing (possible) witnesses, and alibis to check and double-check. Then he’s sidetracked by an investigation into the theft of sand off French beaches – that’s a close one, for a member of his team. That is how a Dupin investigation goes; it’s not just about murder, or missing bodies, it’s about old Breton myths, of Celtic legends and Druids and Celtic music. A suspect is almost killed. Oh, and it all hinges on the sighting of a "ghost." And Nolween, Dupin’s incomparable assistant, is there to remind him of his party. Oh, and did I mention the great news from his girlfriend? No wonder the man needs a glass or three of his favorite Gigondas to get through it all.

It does tend to be a bit confusing, I’d have to admit. It takes a long while to get at the real reason for the murder(s). But, just as Madame Bandol’s favorite detective Hercule Poirot uses his little grey cells to put all the pieces together, Monsieur le Commissaire does the same.

"The Missing Corpse" ends with a magnificent description of Dupin’s anniversary dinner. Everyone important in his life is there. That is the essence of these books; the characters, the life of Breton. Dupin solves mysteries. Life, glorious Breton life, goes on.

Thanks to the publisher and to Net Galley for a copy of this book, in exchange for this review.

The Missing Corpse: A Brittany Mystery
(Kommissar Dupin #4)
by Jean-Luc Bannalec

ebook, 320 pages
Expected publication: April 23rd 2019 by Minotaur Books (first published June 15th 2015)



Goodreads synopsis:
Along the picturesque Belon River, home of the world famous oyster beds, between steep cliffs, ominous forests and the Atlantic Ocean, a stubborn elderly film actress discovers a corpse. By the time Commissaire Dupin arrives at the scene, the body has disappeared. A little while later, he receives a phone call from the mystical hills of Monts d'Arree, where legends of fairies and the devil abound: another unidentified body has turned up. Dupin quickly realizes this may be his most difficult and confounding case yet, with links to celtic myths, a sand theft operation, and mysterious ancient druid cults.


***

3 Stars

This had an interesting concept, but I thought overall it was just okay, I had a hard time following what was going on since all the names were so hard to remember. And there was no real action. It was a pretty slow read. It crawled in the middle making me want to put it down.

I figured this was more like a real detective case a rather than an action-packed fictional account like we are so used to in books. Not my favorite detective book but not horrible either. It was just okay for me. I wanted it to be so good. I guess I am spoiled by other books which hook up with hyped up story and dialogue to make it all more exciting.

If you are a detective fiction fan, definitely check this one out. Lots of details in the storyline to keep you guessing whodunit. Just not up my personal alley.

I received this as an ARC (Advanced Reader Copy) in return for an honest review. I thank NetGalley, the publisher and the author for allowing me to read this title.

The Missing Corpse is a enjoyable mystery that doesn't leave you with any questions and has wonderful writing.

I’ve recently been exploring French mystery fiction and had read and enjoyed the earlier entries in the Commisaire Dupin series. Bannalec hits the mark again with The Missing Corpse. I so enjoy the “regular guy” vibe attached to Dupin (love how he was so eager to engage with the film star who first spied the corpse!) and how he uses that to mask a supremely agile mind. Everything hits the mark here - clever plot, engaging characters, just the right amount of description of the gorgeous French countryside, and well-written dialog. Recommended for mystery readers everywhere.

I love these mysteries. The main detective Dupin is wonderful, the plots are tricky, the other characters delightful, and the setting, rural Brittany, is magical.

One of the aspects that makes Bannalec's mysteries such a delight is his lyrical writing about Brittany, its stories and its history. I'm ready to jump right on a plane to go explore this magical place.

In this mystery a woman walking her dog sees a bloody corpse near the edge of a parking lot. By the time the police arrive it has disappeared. The next day another man is found dead in a remote area. Are the two deaths connected? Do they have anything to do with the village where the missing body was seen?

It's complex and the connections are not clear. But that just helps you to read on.

I loved it!

I was given a ARC of this book in exchange for a honest review.

I'm amazed at how this series seems to inform, puzzle, and dazzle at the same time. I love how the mystery always comes together at the end but it's the journey that makes us come back for more.